


Somebody that I used to know

by seratonation



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hospitals, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-27
Updated: 2011-08-27
Packaged: 2017-10-24 16:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/265534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seratonation/pseuds/seratonation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven and Erik visit Charles in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somebody that I used to know

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song of the same name by Gotye.
> 
> All feedback and con crit loved. My first official XMFC fic that wasn’t for the kink meme. Written for the [bullet wounds](http://themadwritings.livejournal.com/34562.html) square on my [](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/profile)[**hc_bingo**](http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/) card.
> 
> Spoilers for the end of the movie.

  
It wasn’t easy at first. She missed them, she missed the old house, and how familiar everything had been, even with so many new people around.

So she was the first one to make contact. She called the house, hoping to talk to Charles. When Hank answered however, she wasn’t disappointed.

Then he started talking, telling her how Charles was still in the hospital, how the doctors were talking about spinal injury, how it’s not likely he’ll be able to walk again. She stopped listening then, couldn’t take in anymore.

“Hank, stop,” she said, “just, how is he?”

“To be honest, he seems fine,” Hank said, “he’s more quiet maybe, but he’s… normal.”

But no matter how reassuring Hank was Raven didn’t believe him, couldn’t. Then a few days later, Erik comes into her room and sits next to her on the bed.

“You want to visit him,” he said, not really a question.

She looked at him, not sure whether to ask how he knew or to admit that yes, she wanted to make sure Charles was alright.

“Emma,” he said, answering the first question without her having to ask.

“Hank said he was fine,” she said, “but, I don’t know, it sounds wrong, he shouldn’t be fine, he should be- something, I mean not that I want him to be but-“

“It’s okay,” he said, interrupting her, “you're worried about him.”

“Yes,” she said, grateful he understood, “I just want to make sure.”

He nodded. “Tomorrow, you and I will go, we’ll get Azazel to take us.”

She leaned in and hugged him. “Thank you.”

***

When they made it to the hospital, they snuck into an empty room and Raven changed into a human form with a lab coat and name tag and walked behind the reception desk. Erik saw her talk to another nurse and then was handed a file.

She came back and handed it to Erik. “Room 405,” she said, “are you ready?”

Erik looked over the file, and shook his head. “You go ahead,” he said, “I’ll wait here for you.”

“You're not coming?”

He shook his head. “You go ahead,” he repeated, “if I come with you- if I see him-” He shakes his head. “I can’t take that risk, don’t take too long.”

She blinked a couple of times, trying to hide her surprise and then nodded.

She stayed in the nurse form all the way to Charles’ room. She was going to change the moment she walked in but when she heard voices behind the curtains she suddenly couldn’t bring herself to change. She didn’t want to make a scene, she just wanted a quick look and to leave again.

She walked around the curtains and picked up the file at the foot of the bed. She focused on the writing, even though the doctors handwriting looked like nothing but scribbles, going blurry as she tried to not look up at Charles.

“Hello Mr. Xavier,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady, “how are you doing today?”

“I’m just fine,” he said, and he sounded the same as ever, calm and pleasant.

She finally looked up and had to bite back the involuntary sound that tried to escape.

There were tubes connected to his hands and bruising on the inside of his elbow. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was matted, both making his skin look paler than it really was. He looked anything but fine.

“I’d really like to go home soon,” he said, not breaking eye contact, and she had the sudden realisation that he knew. He knew who she was. This was Charles, even if he couldn’t see inside her mind, they grew up together. Of course he’d know.

“I’ll – I’ll see what I can do,” she said, though at this point, it didn’t really matter what she said. She needed to get out of there, before he saw that she was here with Erik, before he could find out where they were staying, before-

She put the file back suddenly and walked out, past the curtains and out the door leaning her back on it once it was closed. She heard Moira start to talk and then was abruptly cut off.

 _I know he’s with you,_ Charles voice said in her head, all pretences gone, _I can’t sense him, but I know he’s here with that god awful helmet._

 _Yes,_ she replied, almost a whisper, even in her own head.

 _Take care of each other,_ he said, _remind him he’s not alone anymore._

She closed her eyes and nodded, sure that Charles knew without her having to say anything.

She walked away, away from the room, and the hall way, the whole sector of the hospital, till she sure Charles couldn’t sense her anymore, couldn’t feel her trying to breathe, trying so hard to keep her skin peach coloured and her hair dark. She stepped into the nearest empty space she could find, and let her form go, tried to gasp in air, tried to get herself under control.

She didn’t want to cry, not really. It was just seeing Charles, her brother, he'd always been so well put together- she took another deep breathe. She’s not like that anymore. She was part of the brotherhood, part of a higher order, and she can’t break down in a woman’s bathroom in a hospital.

She held her hands out in front of her and watched the blue switch to human skin again. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and walked out to find Erik and to go back home.

The end.  



End file.
